recalled
Latest
Zero Motorcycles recalls 2012 models with 'lack of weatherproofing'
If you took Zero Motorcycles up on its offer for 25,000 free miles with the purchase of a bike, you might be turning in those wheels for a fix-up soon. According to Asphalt and Rubber, the electric motorcycle maker is recalling 254 of its 2012 units due to "insufficient weatherproofing." The affected models are at risk for an electrical short inside the battery management system, which could cause the bikes to cut power during in wet weather. Zero says it will notify owners with faulty motorcycles and repair the bikes free of charge. This isn't the company's first recall -- in 2009, it pulled models that were prone to crashing more than usual, and just a few days ago Zero recalled 2011 and 2012 bikes with a faulty brake light switch.
RIM recalls 900 faulty BlackBerry PlayBooks, here are the serial numbers (update)
We found the BlackBerry PlayBook to be a pretty solid piece of hardware, but it seems there was a problem batch -- an inside source tells us that nearly 1,000 faulty tablets were shipped to Staples, and now they're being recalled. We're hoping that Staples (and any other affected retailers) will reach out to customers and inform them of the problem right away, but just in case that doesn't happen, we've compiled a searchable spreadsheet of all 935 alleged serial numbers for you to check against your own. Find it right after the break. Update: RIM tells Crackberry that the faulty batch of the 16GB tablets was indeed limited to the approximately 1,000 units described here, and that they had a faulty build of the OS "that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up." Furthermore, the company says that only a few went out to customers and that most are still in distribution, so with any luck you'll never have to deal with this problem to begin with.
Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 deemed unsafe for human use, recalled
We knew there had to be a catch with the Novatel MiFi 3G routers -- they were just too convenient. But, little did we know that catch involved danger to our health and wellbeing! Bell Mobility has been sending UPS couriers around (real people holding envelopes, not unicorns) to owners of the Novatel MiFi 2372, delivering dire-sounding letters (a copy can be found after the break) telling them to discontinue use of their routers due to faulty battery packs and, if that wasn't enough, they were all remotely deactivated yesterday morning. Owners are told to send their MiFis back to the company for replacement, a process said to take a whopping six to eight weeks. Novatel is sending U998 Turbo Sticks to those affected for use in the interim, but that doesn't do you much good if your device lacks USB ports, like our unfortunate tipster's iPad. We can understand the frustration of giving up your gadget for two months, the alternative doesn't sound too appealing either. Update: Kevin from Novatel dropped us a comment with the company's official statement. We have it after the break. Update 2: A Novatel rep would like us to clarify that the couriers in question are from UPS, and also come equipped with return envelopes for the affected 2372s. So, if anyone from FedEx tries to deliver any documentation about this situation, it's probably a trap. [Thanks, Justin]
70,000 HP laptop batteries recalled due to fire hazard
It's been quite awhile since we've seen a major recall surrounding volatile laptop batteries, but it looks as if HP is the company bringing the topic back to the forefront. Announced today, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Hewlett-Packard, has issued a voluntary recall of about 70,000 Li-ion batteries. Reportedly, these cells can "overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers," and so far, the firm and CPSC have received two separate reports of batteries that have overheated and ruptured, resulting in -- wait for it -- "flames / fire that caused minor property damage." For a look at what units are affected, head on past the break -- oh, and if you're reading this on an HP lappie right now, go ahead and grab the fire extinguisher just in case.
LG recalls 30,000 830 Spyder handsets for crappy 911 connections
While things like copy and paste, multimedia messaging and video calling are nice extras to have, there's really only one thing that's most important when it comes to a reliable cellphone: the 911 functionality. Evidently, around 30,000 LG 830 Spyder handsets aren't having the easiest time dialing for help, with a product recall noting that a huge swath of 'em have "difficulty sustaining a connection or have poor voice quality on calls to emergency 911." It should be noted, however, that LG's actually being really, really proactive here, as it has only received a single report (and no injuries) to date. The Spyder phones affected have software versions T83LGV03 and T83LGV04, and you can hit the read link if you suspect yours is amongst that 30,000.[Via textually]
